Hours after Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration said it would automatically reject all Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by the public due to reductions in city services caused by the coronavirus emergency, the mayor reversed course and said she would follow the Illinois attorney general’s guidance on the issue.

“Due to the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Chicago is reducing nonessential services and requiring staff to work from home where possible to protect their health and safety — all while working to ensure operational continuity for our critical city services,” Lightfoot’s administration said in a statement. “That said, FOIA remains an important public service, which is why Mayor Lightfoot has directed her administration to ensure that all FOIA requests are reviewed and considered in the coming days, with each response evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”

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The state’s public records law is designed to give citizens access to records that detail how government works beyond what officials volunteer at news conferences and in other public settings. Experts say it’s a key tool for holding government officials accountable.

State law gives the attorney general power to mediate disputes between the public and government bodies, and the attorney general also gives public guidance to local governments on how to handle requests.

The Illinois attorney general’s office released an opinion to local governments about FOIA, saying, “Public bodies should continue to comply with FOIA and respond to each request promptly, to the extent they are able to, given the limitation on staff and resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Both requesters and public bodies should keep in mind that FOIA allows the public body and the requester to come to a mutually agreeable response period to comply with a FOIA request,” the attorney general’s office wrote. “Members of the public and media are asked to keep these considerations in mind and are strongly encouraged to work with public bodies to agree on reasonable and appropriate response times in light of the public health concerns that we all face.”

Lightfoot’s administration referred to that guidance in its statement reversing course.

“In light of the paring down of city personnel and services to the essentials, we will no doubt be compelled to adjust our response to FOIA requests, and recent guidance from the Illinois attorney general anticipates such adjustments,” Lightfoot’s office said. “The city will provide additional information on an updated FOIA process in light of new teleworking arrangements, technology and other considerations in the coming days. The City will issue new common sense FOIA policies as soon as practical."

Earlier Wednesday, the city of Chicago said it automatically would deny all Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by the public — effectively casting a shroud of secrecy over the inner workings of local government.

Lightfoot’s administration had responded to a FOIA request with an automated denial that said, “Freedom of Information Act responses have been deemed a non-essential city operation and are being temporarily suspended until further notice,” raising concerns about the city’s handling of public documents.

Asked about the city’s new policy on FOIA responses during a conference call with reporters, Lightfoot said she was unaware that action had been taken, but acknowledged it was under consideration.

“We may have asked for additional time, but we certainly haven’t taken that action yet that I’m aware of,” Lightfoot said. “Obviously, responding to FOIA requests is something that we take very seriously. But given the bandwidth issues and as we’re ramping down essential services, that is certainly something that we’re looking at, but I don’t believe that we’ve taken any action yet.”

Informed that the administration had in fact denied requests under the new policy, Lightfoot said she would look into it.

The administration’s stance drew criticism from government watchdogs and journalists, who rely on the tool to inform the public.

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Ben Silver, an attorney with the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst, said he’s sympathetic to local governments that likely will need more time to respond to public records requests due to all the turmoil being caused by coronavirus. But the city’s blanket denial was improper, he said.

“This is a time of grave uncertainty. People need to have trust in their government,” Silver said. “One of the reasons we have a Freedom of Information Act is people need to see what’s going on in their government. These are public records people are entitled to.”

In response to a public records request submitted by the Tribune, the mayor’s office released the following automatic denial:

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“Due to the COVID19 National and State public health emergency, and the Governor’s issuance of a disaster proclamation, the City of Chicago is in the process of scaling back on workforce and non-essential City operations and duties,” the city said. “In doing so the City has determined that certain job functions must be suspended as non-essential. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) responses have been deemed a non-essential City operation and are being temporarily suspended until further notice.”

Raised in Little Village, Gregory Pratt covers Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and City Hall. Before joining the Tribune in 2013, he worked for the BGA, alt-weeklies in Phoenix and Minneapolis, and Spanish-daily Hoy. He has been a finalist for the Livingston Award and earned recognition for investigative reporting, including a Scripps Howard award.